The Rufford Small Grants Foundation Final Report Congratulations on the completion of your project that was supported by The Rufford Small Grants Foundation. We ask all grant recipients to complete a Final Report Form that helps us to gauge the success of our grant giving. The Final Report must be sent in word format and not PDF format or any other format. We understand that projects often do not follow the predicted course but knowledge of your experiences is valuable to us and others who may be undertaking similar work. Please be as honest as you can in answering the questions – remember that negative experiences are just as valuable as positive ones if they help others to learn from them. Please complete the form in English and be as clear and concise as you can. Please note that the information may be edited for clarity. We will ask for further information if required. If you have any other materials produced by the project, particularly a few relevant photographs, please send these to us separately. Please submit your final report to [email protected]. Thank you for your help. Josh Cole, Grants Director Grant Recipient Details Your name Md. Qumruzzaman Chowdhury Assessing the diversity of national red listed vascular plants Project title and hotspots identification at Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary, Bangladesh RSG reference 11191-1 Reporting period February 2012-September 2012 Amount of grant £4786 Your email address [email protected] Date of this report 18-2-2013 1. Please indicate the level of achievement of the project’s original objectives and include any relevant comments on factors affecting this. Objective Not Partially Fully Comments achieved achieved achieved To quantify the red listed X We identified total of 66 red species diversity in Rema- listed vascular plants of 35 Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary families and 55 genera in the study area. To explore their X Diversity patterns of red listed distributional patterns in vascular plant species were different habitats within identified both in natural and the PA plantation forests. To identify richness and X We identified five rarity hotspots rarity hotspots within the in each of the plantation and PA natural forests. 2. Please explain any unforeseen difficulties that arose during the project and how these were tackled (if relevant). The study sites are situated in very remote places. Hence, we faced accommodation and security problems during data collection. However, Bangladesh Forest Department’s local staffs helped us to overcome these problems. 3. Briefly describe the three most important outcomes of your project. I. Red listed vascular plants in Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary The status of all species was assessed using the National Red List Criteria. We found a total of 66 red listed vascular plants of 35 families and 55 genera in the Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary (Table 1). Among the families, Anacardiaceae, Arecaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Moraceae and Verbenaceae are the threatened species rich families. Examples of two species are shown in Figure 2. II. Diversity and distributional patterns of red listed vascular plants in different habitats of the PA measured The distribution of red listed vascular plants reveals that in particular the plantation forest consists of 47 species of 42 genus and 28 families, whereas the natural forest has 17 unique species. Highest richness value (18) was found in plot 2 of natural forest and lowest value was observed in sample plot 4 (Fig. 3a). Richness value ranged from 0 to 14 with a mean value of 5.32. In terms of alpha diversity (Shannon Index), mean values were 1.64 and 1.07 for natural and plantation forests, respectively (Fig. 3b). Natural forest had the highest alpha diversity value (2.64) compared to the value of plantation forest, which makes up 2.43 only. III. Distribution of hotspots in Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary We identified five rarity hotspots from each of the plantation and natural forests. In comparison to the plantation forests, threatened species number was much higher in the hotspots within the natural forests. The threatened species numbers within the identified hotspots are mapped in the Figure 4. Table 1. Red listed vascular plants in Rema-Kalenga Wildlife Sanctuary Family Genus Scientific name Life form Acanthoceae Justica Adhatoda zeylanica S Anacardiaceae Mangifera Mangifera longipes V Mangifera Mangifera sylvatica V Semicarpus Semicarpus anacardium T Spondias Spondias pinnata T Apocynaceae Alstonia Alstonia scholaris T Holigrana Holigrana longifolia T Willoughbeia Willoughbeia edulis V Araceae Aglaonema Aglaonema hookerianum H Homalomena Homalomena aromatica H Steudnera Steudnera colocasioides H Arecaceae Calamus Calamus tenuis C Daemonorops Daemonorops jenkinsiana C Didymosperma Didymosperma nana C Liculata Liculala peltata Palm Bignoniaceae Oroxylum Oroxylum indicum T Bombax Bombax insigne T Caesalpiniaceae Cassia Cassia fistula T Cassia Cassia nodosa T Clusiaceae Garcinia Garcinia xanthochymus T Combretaceae Terminalia Terminalia bellirica T Terminalia Terminalia citrina T Dilleniaceae Dillenia Dillenia indica T Dioscoreaceae Dioscorea Discoreaprazeri V Dipterocarpaceae Shorea Shorea robusta T Elaeocarpaceae Elaeocarpus Elaeocarpus robustus T Euphorbiaceae Antidesma Antidesma ghaesembila S Baccaurea Baccaurea ramiflora T Macaranga Macaranga denticulata T Macaranga Macaranga indica S Macaranga Macaranga peltata T Phyllanthus Phyllanthus embelica T Fagaceae Castanopsis Castanopsis indica T Fabaceae spatholobus Butea roxburghii V Guttiferae Garcinia Garcinia cowa T Lauraceae Litsea Litsea glutinosa T Lecythidaceae Careya Careya arborea T Leguminosae Albizia Albizia lebbek T Albizia Albizia lucida T Entada Entada phaseoloides V Liliaceae Crinum Crinum defixum H Meliaceae Chukrasia Chukrasia tabularis T Menispermaceae Pericampyllus Pericam pyllusglaucus V Tinospora Tinospora crispa V Moraceae Fiscus Fiscus glomerata S Fiscus Fiscu srecemosa T Fiscus Fiscus religiosa T Musaceae Musa Musa rosacea H Myrtaceae Syzygium Syzygium wallichi T Orchidaceae Cymbidium Cymbidium aloifolium O Vanda Vanda teres O Poaceae Neonauclea Neonauclea sessilifolia T Rubiaceae Paedaria Paedaria foetida H Rutaceae Zanthoxylum Zanthoxylum rhetsa T Sterculiaceae Pterospermum Pterospermum acerifolum T Sterculia Sterculia villosa T Thymeleaceae Aguilaria Aguilaria agallocha T Vaticeae Vitex Vitex quadriangularis V Verbenaceae Gmelina Gmelina arborea T Vitex Vitex diversifolia T Vitex Vitex peduncularis T Vitex Vitex pubescens T Zingiberaceae Amomum Amomum aromaticum H Amomum Amomum corynostachyum H Hedychium Hedychium thyrsiforme H Curcuma Curcuma amada H Fig. 1 Alstonia scholaries Fig. 2 Spondia spinnata Fig. 3a Threatened species richness patterns in the natural and plantation forest Fig. 3b Threatened species alpha diversity patterns in the natural and plantation forests. Fig. 4 Hotspots in the plantation (boxes) and natural (circles) forests. 4. Briefly describe the involvement of local communities and how they have benefitted from the project (if relevant). During the field survey we found that most of the red listed plant species are threaten by intensified fuelwood and non timber forest products (NTFP) collection and intensive grazing activities. Moreover, the illicit felling and conversion of forestlands into agricultural land is a serious threat leading to habitat loss and forest degradation. We therefore did a community consultation with local people on the red listed vascular plant species in the PA. The present study initiated a better understanding and awareness on red listed vascular plants to the local communities regarding their conservation value and how this effort can help them to enhance and secure their livelihood. 5. Are there any plans to continue this work? This work documented the red listed vascular plant species and their distribution patterns in the PA that will assist in long term monitoring of the plants. Moreover, identification of hotspots will guide the decision makers in constructing clear and practical strategy for biodiversity conservation in the PAs. We showed positive feedback of conservation of these species to the PA management authority and they are planning to conserve the identified hotspots of red listed plant species. 6. How do you plan to share the results of your work with others? The key findings of the project were shared through a workshop with officials from Bangladesh Forest Department, graduate students from two universities and local NGOs. Moreover, we planned to disseminate the results to wider range of audience through peer reviewed publications in relevant journals. In this context, we already submitted one article titled on “Tree rings in Bangladesh - a Synthesis” in Tree-Ring Research journal. 7. Timescale: Over what period was the RSG used? How does this compare to the anticipated or actual length of the project? The RSG funds were used over a period of 8 months. In this project, we made a baseline survey of red listed vascular plant species in the protected area. In addition, quantification of diversity and distributional patterns of the species in different habitats within the PA will help in implementing habitat specific conservation actions. We are also planning to apply for additional funds (a booster grant) from the RSG to support expansion the project into the surrounding forests area. 8. Budget: Please provide a breakdown of budgeted versus actual expenditure and the reasons for any differences. All figures should be in £ sterling, indicating the local